Ange Postecoglou knows what’s coming but he’s not for turning.
The Aussie is aware there will be a clamour for caution; a plea for pragmatism the next time the Champions League music mingles with the disco lights at Celtic Park. Four games in and a single point gained, from their next opponents Shakhtar Donetsk, is not the kind of return Postecoglou and his followers wanted or anticipated.
He knows if you miss chance after chance at this elite level, it will come back to bite you. Celtic ’s style of play is not the issue here. It’s their inability to put the ball in the back of the net that is. Losing to Real Madrid is one thing but the back-to-back defeats from RB Leipzig - the second of which had an air of inevitability from the moment the second half started on Tuesday night - have been bruising. But anyone who thinks this manager is going to hide in a corner licking his wounds before sending his men out to play cat and mouse with the Ukrainians in a fortnight, in the hope of nicking a 1-0 win that will keep Europa League dreams alive, hasn’t been paying attention.
No, by the time 60,000 Celtic fans are ready to roar again, it’s going to be another full throttle, pedal to the metal approach. And if the opposition hasn’t buckled by the break? Then Celtic will simply have to do better than they have up until now in the second half of Champions League ties, where they have conceded seven of the nine goals that have flown past Joe Hart.
That comes down to an inability to sustain the tempo he demands from his players beyond the hour mark and when he makes his substitutions to bring on fresh legs, it can take time for the new men to adapt to the rhythm of the match. And at elite European level, top players won’t allow them that time. Weld that to the profligacy in front of goal that has seen Celtic score just twice from 44 attempts from inside the box in this campaign and it all adds up to that solitary point and three defeats.
Yet, the very fact that his team has created so many chances is fuelling Postecoglou ’s belief his way is the right way. He just needs his players - and the punters for that matter - to keep the faith. I just want players to get the rewards for their endeavours,” he explained. “I am trying to get us to play a certain way for a reason, to be successful. You know at this level if you don’t take those opportunities it’s going to hurt you one way or another and that’s been the story of our campaign.
“It has been a tale of missed opportunities. From my perspective, it’s disappointing for our fans and the players they don’t get rewarded for their efforts. It (scoring) is the hardest part of the game. It is why clubs spend hundreds of millions of dollars on players who do that. It’s not a case of sitting there and thinking ‘take your opportunities’. It is about experience, composure at this level. The fine lines and the stresses that are involved in playing at the highest level of club football.
“The experience can hopefully get your players to feel more comfortable in those situations. As I said, it is the most difficult part of football.
“For us, we have been unlucky too. We have hit the post twice in the same sequence (on Tuesday) and on any other day they could go in. But it is always going to be like that, even for the top sides at Champions League level.
“I said before the game, it’s just relentless and it is always going to be. You can play in this for 10 years and if you don’t take your opportunities, the opposition will. That will never change. That’s part of the process the players have to embrace. In the league, sometimes you can get away with it. You don’t have to be always clinical and you can still win a game of football, as we did at the weekend when we weren’t clinical in front of goal but still found a way to win.
“That doesn’t exist in the Champions League and will never exist for us no matter how long we play in it. It will always come down to...if we are creating chances and not taking them then there will be quality in the other team which will punish you.”
Progression to the knockout stages has gone for another year but Real Madrid’s 95th minute equaliser against Shakhtar on Tuesday has left the door open for European involvement beyond Christmas, although that will take Celtic beating the Ukrainians and Donetsk losing to Leipzig - whom they beat 4-1 in Germany on gameday one - in their final game.
All that and the small matter of Celtic going to Madrid and getting a point at the Bernabeu but the manager will think about that when the time comes. Before Shakhtar come calling on October 25, Celtic have a League Cup tie away to Motherwell sandwiched between two Premiership clashes with Hibs and Hearts.
It’s a packed schedule that has seen injuries begin to pile up but by the time Donetsk arrive, Postecoglou is convinced his team will be ready to go, all or nothing, to achieve that first Champions League win at home in nine years. It’s important for the players, important for the club and it’s important for our supporters because they’ve been outstanding,” Postecoglou added. “You want something from it.
“I can’t fault our endeavour or the way we’ve gone about it. Our mindset has been great but ultimately, all of us want a reward along the way because it can accelerate the belief that already exists, so it’s an important game. It won’t be an easy game. Shakhtar have shown already how good a team they are and they have aspirations of going through, so it won’t be easy for us.”
Postecoglou badly wants that win. But not badly enough to ditch the principles he believes will benefit Celtic in the long term.
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